Randy Romero's Remarkable Ride - Hardcover

Heller, Bill

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1589807529 ISBN 13: 9781589807525

Publisher: Pelican Publishing, 2010

Synopsis

A fiercely determined athlete, father, and soft-spoken Cajun, Randy Romero is one the greatest riders in Thoroughbred history. Despite enduring twenty-five major surgeries, burning more than sixty percent of his body due to an explosion, suffering physical abuse from his father, and self-abuse to meet certain weight requirements, Romero never considered quitting the sport for a second. He survived all of these setbacks to pursue his goals in racing, eventually retiring with a still record of 181 victories. More than fifty years old and undergoing dialysis, the jockey is a living legend.

Romero began his career as a nine year old in backwoods Louisiana. Determined to branch out to bigger venues, he soon won races at Evangeline Downs, Delta Downs, Churchill Downs, and even Keeneland in Kentucky. He eventually went on to win twenty-five riding titles at ten different racetracks with such notable horses as Wavering Monarch, Rocket's Magic, Personal Ensign, and Go for Wand.

In this candid biography, Bill Heller follows Romero's career from his humble beginnings to his final race. Romero's wife, mother, and those involved in the fast-paced world of Thoroughbred racing provide firsthand commentary on the sports star's life. Personal photographs of the jockey with his family, as well as images of the rider in victorious glory, accompany this riveting biography.

About this title

About the Author

Award-winning author Bill Heller is the racing editor for Thoroughbred Style. In addition to publishing twenty books, he is the author of hundreds of magazine articles for approximately eighty different publications. He contributes regularly to Trainer Magazine and Canadian Sportsman and handicaps New York Thoroughbred racing for the Daily Gazette. The prior national president and chairman of the board of the United States Harness Writers Association, he serves as vice president of the Saratoga Harness Museum and Hall of Fame.  Because of his expertise in Thoroughbred racing, Heller has been the recipient of ten awards for magazine writing, including two first place honors in the American Horse Publications awards, William Leggett Breeders' Cup Award, and the Eclipse Award for magazine writing on Thoroughbred racing.  Having graduated with honors from the State University of Albany with a degree in political science and a minor in journalism, Heller resides in Albany, New York, with his wife.

From the Back Cover

"Bill Heller is among the most prolific of American turf writers, and he is at his best in Randy Romero's Remarkable Ride, a fascinating chronicle of the jockey's peak-and-valley existence both in and out of the saddle, from the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father to a soaring career shot through with accidents, injuries, and illness. In spite of all this, Romero rose to become one of America's leading riders. It is all in Heller's book-the pain, the glory, the triumph over adversity."
-William Nack, seven-time Eclipse Award recipient and author of Secretariat: The Making of a Champion

"Randy Romero has long been acknowledged as an outstanding jockey, but Bill Heller's well-researched, very interesting biography puts Randy's life and career in the proper context. Considering what life has dealt him, Randy's accomplishments are even more impressive. It's a story of grit, talent, and bravery. A remarkable ride indeed."
-Mike Kane, former communications officer, National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

"Bill Heller has done a wonderful job of portraying the very interesting and intriguing life of Randy Romero."
-Shug McGaughey, Hall of Fame trainer

From the Inside Flap

Born in Louisiana's Cajun Country in 1957, Randy Romero showed an early flair for riding and an uncompromising fearlessness that would follow him throughout his life. This candid biography begins with the jockey's unstable childhood in an abusive home and continues through the riding career that would make him a legend.

Despite missing some six years of riding due to injuries, Romero remains one of the top jockeys in Thoroughbred racing history with a record that exceeds four thousand victories. He has suffered a punctured lung, broken bones, and more than twenty major surgeries and survived a near-fatal fire from a sweatbox explosion. However, Romero has never given up his passion for the sport.

Romero persevered and won races at such notable tracks as the Fair Grounds in New Orleans, Keeneland in Kentucky, Belmont Park in New York, Arlington Park in Chicago, and Gulfstream Park in Florida. He rode the distinguished fillies Go for Wand and Personal Ensign, who, as a result of Romero's perfect performance in the 1988 Breeders' Cup Distaff, became the first undefeated major American Thoroughbred in eighty years.

Now retired from racing and undergoing dialysis, Romero exemplifies the power of the human spirit. Pictures from his past depict him as a young child already on horseback while others show him triumphant after yet another victory. Interviews with colleagues and reflections from family members reveal a fiercely determined but soft-spoken man who pushed through seemingly overwhelming obstacles to overcome, both on and off the racetrack.

Award-winning author Bill Heller is a regular contributor to Trainer Magazine and Canadian Sportsman, and he handicaps for the Daily Gazette of Schenectady, New York. Heller's ten national awards for magazine writing in the field of horse racing include the Eclipse Award, the William Leggett Breeders' Cup Award, and five first-place honors in the American Horse Publications Awards. He is a member of the writers' corner of the Harness Racing Hall of fame in Goshen, New York. This is his twenty-first book. Heller resides in Albany, New York, with his wife, Anna, and their son, Benjamin.

Edition details

• Publisher: Pelican Publishing
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1589807529
• ISBN 13: 9781589807525
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240